The restriction of a Dublin star was the key to Galway’s famous victory

Although the final figures would have suggested a draw, there was no doubt as to who had won the decisive head-to-head duel.

Galway’s John Maher was given the most difficult job in Gaelic football – with the sole exception of the unfortunate man who was to tie up David Clifford -: following Brian Fenton’s every move in Saturday night’s All-Ireland quarter-final.

The final reading on the tape will show that they both ended up scoring a point each, which might even suggest that they broke even, which would have been a win-win for Galway even before the throw-in.

But in reality, it was arguably Maher who contributed most to Dublin’s success. Given the strong performance of Dylan McHugh at full-back, Shane Walsh’s 65 outstanding minutes before he limped off the game, and the performance of Cillian McDaid, who was officially named man of the match, it’s a bold claim.

Galway’s change of heart after a cautious first half in which they held Dublin at bay proved key to a second-half comeback that saw them overturn a four-point half-time deficit and record their first victory over the defending champions in 90 years – and that simply wouldn’t have been possible without Maher.

The biggest risk in games against Dublin over the last decade is that unoccupied spaces become a battleground for the opposition, mainly due to their athleticism and the danger of Fenton winning the ball deep back and exploiting those channels.

With the ball in his hands, his execution is so good that he is the most dangerous midfielder since Kerry’s big name Jack O’Shea showed the world there was more to playing in the middle than, well, just playing in the middle.

But as Galway turned up the pressure on Saturday, Fenton was nowhere to be found except in the occasional lateral link-up, forced to stand in someone else’s shadow this time.

What is remarkable is that Maher was this someone else.

When the Salthill-Knocknacarra man made his debut in Pádraic Joyce’s first season as manager in 2020, it was the afternoon that Galway’s season reached its peak.

They had won four of their first five games before the season was suspended due to the pandemic. When the season resumed in late autumn, expectations were high as they hosted Mayo in Tuam, but they were soundly beaten by 15 points.

Maher started in midfield that afternoon and was gone by half-time, and actually for much longer.

A few months later, Fenton’s status as one of the greatest players of all time was confirmed when he was named Player of the Year for a second time for his role in Dublin’s six consecutive wins.

What were the chances, then, that Maher would be the player with Fenton’s number in a crucial game four years later?

Maybe not as big as the outside world might think.

He currently has a good chance of being named an All-Star for the first time.

Saturday night was not the first time this summer that he was a key figure in turning a game in Galway’s favour.

They came under a lot of pressure in the first 20 minutes of the Connacht final against Mayo, particularly as they failed to contain Matthew Ruane when Joyce brought Maher off the bench.

After that, the momentum changed, Galway found a way to gain control of a game that seemed to be slipping away from them and the rest, as they say, is history.

As usual, the details of Saturday evening did not bother him.

“I was pretty happy with how everything went,” he said after the game, which might be the understatement of the year.

“It was a job that was assigned to me, so I should have known earlier this week and done my homework.”

“I knew I had a lot of work ahead of me, but I had a similar role against him in the league this year, so I got comfortable with the role there. He’s a great player.”

And Maher is proving indispensable. When you have to judge where Galway are today compared to two years ago, when they narrowly lost to Kerry in the final, his presence is the strongest argument that they are better.

This relegated McDaid to the centre-forward position, where he is the perfect counterpart to protect the legs of his midfield partner Paul Conroy, who has been in the team for 35 years.

It could be the final piece of the jigsaw in what is perhaps the most balanced middle formation in the game, given the form of Dylan McHugh and Seán Mulkerrin, and the promise of Matthew Tierney – who was out of form against Dublin, however. Add to that Seán Kelly, should he return to fitness in the coming weeks, and the strength of this unit is impressive.

When Galway reached the final two years ago, Maher was nowhere to be seen as he had decided not to travel to the USA, so this title fight is a completely new experience for him.

“It’s a new experience for me to be winning big championships in Croke Park, but the boys have been there before and have won some big games over the last few years, so this is just an addition to their experience,” he admits.

In fact, as a group they have plenty of experience and now they have to do their job.

They became only the third team in the last 14 years to beat Dublin at Croke Park on Saturday night, the others being Mayo (2021) and Kerry (2022).

The latter took full advantage and Mayo ultimately opened the door to the championship for Tyrone. The only difference between the two western superpowers, however, is that Galway have no qualms about chasing the big prize, which may explain why the team have won six All-Irelands since their neighbours west of the Shannon last lifted the title.

And Maher is adamant that Saturday night will count for nothing if Galway do not do it again.

“This will be forgotten pretty quickly,” he said.